The Promises Long Forgotten
by baka-green
Summary: A promise made between friends long ago may become much more than expected.
1. Prolouge

A white moving van pulled up the driveway of the empty house on Main Street. The loose gravel crunched loudly as they shifted beneath the tires. The engine roared and quieted down as the driver slowly came to a stop.

The passenger door opened and a little girl with shoulder length blonde hair stepped out. Her hair was tied back in a purple ribbon that matched her dress. She stared out at the empty house with her big purple eyes. A wave of fear came over her and she hugged her brown teddy bear.

The pale blue house was two stories high and had many windows. All of them were dark and most were filled with cobwebs. The grass in front of the house was turning to a light shade of brown. A white picket fence separated the dying lawn from the fresh green lawns of their neighbors. A stone path led from the opening in the fence and over to the front door. Along the sides was what flowerbeds filled with wilted flowers.

An auburn haired woman came up behind the small child and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"So, Mai, how do you like your new house?" The woman asked.

The girl looked over the house again and shook her head. "I don't like it." She said plainly.

"Well, grab your bag so we can go inside. Maybe you will like it better once you look around."

Her bright red lips curled into a comforting smile showing off her perfect white teeth.

Mai followed the woman to the back of the van. The door made a sound like thunders as it was pulled up to reveal bags and furniture. Mai grabbed a pink bag with a white cat on the front. She pulled out the handle and dragged it across the gravel to the gate in the fence.

She stood on her tiptoes to be able to reach over the fence and unlock the latch. The hinges squeaked as it swung open.

"Looks like we need to oil that." Said Mai's mother as she walked up behind her. She smiled another one of her perfect smiles. "Go on, Mai." She encouraged her.

Mai gulped and started to walk down the stone path.

The brown door stood high above her. She slowly reached up to grab the doorknob. It turned easily and she pushed it open.

The hardwood floors had a thin layer of dust resting over it. To the left was a staircase and to the right was a doorway. In front of her, Mai could see the kitchen from down the long hallway. The walls were painted an off-white color, the same in every room.

Mai stepped forward down the long empty hallway. She stopped halfway don the hall and looked to her right. It was a large room with some furniture inside. The furniture was covered in white sheets, giving the room an eerie feel. One wall was entirely covered by a bookshelf. The previous owners left behind a few books and they looked rather old. Mai walked inside the room and pulled a book off the shelf. She whipped away the dust on the cover and looked at the cover. She couldn't tell what the title was because she hadn't learned how to read yet. But, Mai still enjoyed looking at the bright red cover and the curvy gold letters.

"Mai? How 'bout you go upstairs and pick out a bedroom?" Said her mother peeking into the room. She was carrying a large cardboard box.

Mai nodded and put the book back on the shelf. She grabbed the outstretched handle of her bag and pulled it back into the hall. The bag made a loud sound as she dragged it up the stairs, hitting each individual step. The sound stopped and you could hear the soft sound of the wheels rolling against the floor. She stopped to look into each room in the upstairs. When she reached the third room on the left, she walked inside.

It was large, and had a window with a nice view of the water. She set her bag down in the center of the room, and looked around. She smiled at the room that she had chosen.

She walked back down the stairs and her mother called "Mai, did you pick a room?" Mai nodded and smiled at her. "Well then, come look at the yard. I think you'll like it.

Mai ran over to the sliding glass door and looked outside. The yard looked like it was huge because their yards and the surrounding yards didn't have any fences. Trees popped up randomly from the green grass speckled with yellow dandelions. A flowerbed sat underneath the largest tree in the yard with wilted roses in it.

Mai smiled excitedly and looked up at her mother. "Can I go outside?"

"Yes, you may." Mai ran outside and her mother called after her, "But, don't ruin your new dress!"

She ignored her mother and kept on running around. She loved the new yard. It was so big. She stopped and hugged her teddy bear when she heard a twig snap in the tree she was closest to. She looked up into the tree but didn't see anything.

"Hello?" She called up weakly. "Hello?" she said again with a little more confidence.

No one replied, but another twig snapped and the leaves rustled.

"Hello?" she said, a little louder than a whisper.

Still, no one answered. The leaves rustled some more. A small gray squirrel climbed onto a branch with barely any leaves on it, causing Mai to jump back. It nibbled happily on a nut and didn't seem to notice the girl staring at it. Mai sighed, relieved that it was just a squirrel and began to turn and walk away. She came to a halt when there was a loud snap and a hard thud on the ground behind her.

Mai turned around quickly afraid of what she might find. A small boy rubbed his head in pain. Twigs fell from his blonde mess of hair and fell onto his shoulders. His face looked dirty like it hadn't been washed in weeks. There was a tear in the left knee of his jeans and he wore a blue jacket over a white shirt covered in stains. He moaned as he sat up a bit straighter.

"A-are you alright?" Mai said nervously taking a step closer to the boy.

"Yeah. Happens all the time." He said standing up. Mai tried to suppress a giggle. "What are you laughing at?" he asked in what Mai thought to be his 'tough' voice.

"Nothing. I just thought you were a monster." She said giggling once more.

The boy pointed to himself. "Me? A monster?" he said as if it were a crazy idea.

"Yes. You really scared me for a second there."

"You scared me- though I didn't think you were a monster. I just have never seen you around here before." He paused for a second. "What are you doing in my yard?"

"What do you mean 'your yard'? This is my families yard. We just moved in here." Mai said confused.

"Oh! You must be our new neighbors then. Your yard is over there." He said pointing in the opposite direction.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, I guess we're neighbors now. My names Mai Valentine." She said holding out her hand.

"Joey Wheeler." The boy said shaking Mai's hand.

_From that moment on, the two were inseparable. They went to the same school and had the same classes. They both protected each other and were the best of friends. Until, almost two years later…_

"Mai!" Called Joey running towards her. "Mai!"

Mai stopped swinging on her new swing set in he backyard to listen to what Joey had to say. By the look on his face, he had important news. "What is it, Joey?" She asked smiling at him.

He was panting slightly from running so fast. "Mai! My family is moving tomorrow!" He said almost in tears.

"That's horrible! That means that we will never see each other again!" She said, tears already welling up in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Mai. There's a chance that we'll see each other again someday." He said trying to cheer her up.

"Well, what can we do?" Mai said whipping away her tears.

"I don't know."

Mai held out her pinky finger. "Promise me that we will be best friends forever no matter what happens."

Joey smiled and they locked fingers. "It's a promise."

Moving day

Mai watched sadly as she watched Joey's family pack up the moving van. "I'm going to miss you."

"Ill miss you to. But, I will call you every day."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Mai gave Joey a big hug and her eyes filled with tears once more. Joey blushed slightly and hugged her back. "Don't cry, Mai. Seeing you sad makes me sad. Stay happy just for me, Ok?" He said pulling back at arm length to look into her purple eyes.

"I will." She said smiling at him.

Joey's father told him to hurry up. "I have to go." He said sadly. He kissed Mai lightly on her cheek. "That will be a sign of our friendship." He said before running off. "Don't loose it!" He called over his shoulder. He climbed into the front seat of the truck and waved out the window after he buckled his seatbelt.

Mai put a hand where Joey had kissed her. She blushed but smiled a waved back at him.

The truck pulled out of the driveway, and Mai couldn't help but cry a little more. She watched it move down the road. Before she knew what she was doing, she ran after the vehicle. It easily outran her but she kept running.

She tripped and scraped her knee on the pavement. She held her knee close to her and reached her hand out as if she could capture them in her fist. Mai thought she could see a glimpse of Joey looking out the window at her for just a moment before he pulled his head back in. So, Mai sat in the middle of the street hugging her knee with her arm outstretched. The tears now fell freely down her face.

"Wait!" She called out after them. "Wait." She repeated weakly.


	2. Would You Like A Cup Of Coffee?

"Wait…Wait…" Mai mumbled as she tossed and turned in her bed. "Don't go!" She said sitting up and opening her purple eyes. She sighed when she realized it was just a dream. Mai placed a hand on where she had received her first kiss. It still made her blush after 15 years. She lay back down to find that her pillow was wet. She felt her eyes and wiped away the tears that had escaped when she was asleep.

She had had that dream almost every night since he had moved away. She frowned when she realized that he never did keep his promise. He had called every day for almost two years. His calls kept on becoming fewer and fewer until they stopped coming at all. When the she had stopped receiving calls, she knew he had forgotten about her. But she couldn't forget about him.

She had tried to many times before. When she finally managed to get him out of her head, something would happen to make the memories of him come back. She couldn't remember much about him anymore except for his lopsided grin, but now, he was a nameless shadow. A mere memory that came to haunt her every night.

She rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on her bedside table. She cursed and sat up once more, this time getting completely out of bed. Mai groggily walked across her bedroom. She stopped when she passed her mirror. She looked at herself in disgust. Her face looked so hard and cold. 'Maybe he's the same' she thought. Mai remembered the promise she had made to him all those years ago. She promised to stay happy for him.

She tried smiling, but it didn't seem to fit. It looked like she was wearing a friendly mask to hide her angry, mean face. Had she really become everything she was trying not to be?

Her cell phone rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. She walked over to the bedside table where it was charging. It beeped when she pushed a button. "Hello?" She asked in a sleepy voice.

"Hey, Mai!' said a friendly voice over the phone that she would know anywhere.

She sat down on the side of her bed. "Hey, Yugi. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go and get some coffee. You sound like you need it." He said, laughing slightly.

"Yeah. I really could use a coffee. Meet you in half an hour down at that one coffee shop. You know. The one in downtown."

"Yeah. I know what you're talking about. See you in half an hour. And please don't be late this time."

"Hey! That was just one time!"

"Right…"

Mai laughed. "Goodbye, Yugi."

"Bye."

She hung up the phone and slowly stood up. She was almost fully awake now. All she needed was a nice shower. She headed over to the bathroom, grabbing a towel on her way. She took a quick shower and put on her usual outfit. Which was a white belly shirt with a purple coat on top. She also wore a purple skirt with tall brown boots.

She looked in the mirror once more. Her face now looked a little better, but still the same cold face as before. She sighed and brushed her long blonde hair. Once it was brushed, she blow dried it and put on her makeup.

On her way out, she grabbed the keys to her car and a little white purse. She checked the time on her cell phone. The phone was sloppily thrown into her purse and she was out the door. She locked it behind her and walked down the pathway from her house, just hoping there would be no traffic.

Downtown

Mai found a place to park her car a couple blocks away from the coffee shop. She checked the time on her phone once more. Almost out of time. She returned it to her purse and hurriedly walked down the sidewalk that was crowded with people.

Yugi had been her friend for about six years now. Some people said that they looked like a couple, but they tried their best to stop the rumor form spreading. Truth is, they were just really close friends. She shivered at the thought of Yugi being her boyfriend.

A blonde haired man bumped into her and almost knocked her over. "Why don't you watch where your going!" She yelled at him.

"Well, maybe you should pay more attention to where you walk!" He yelled back at her.

"Punk!" She said just loud enough for him to hear.

"Jerk!"

They both turned their backs to each other and walked in the opposite direction. "Good for nothing punk." She mumbled.

"Hey, Mai!" she looked up and saw a boy with spiky blonde hair with purple streaks waving at her. He had a friendly smile and warm purple eyes. Because he was very short for his age, he had to almost jump up to be seen over the crowd of people. He was standing in front of a small brick building. A large sign hung above the door reading 'Karma Café' in large fancy letters. Mai could smell the coffee from here drifting from the door that had just opened when a customer walked out.

She waved back and smiled. "How you doing, Yugi?"

"Fine." He paused. "Are you alright Mai? You look…angry." He pointed out.

"There was this jerk who bumped into me." She said angrily. "What a way to start the morning."

"I'm sorry." He said as they walked into the café. Small bells jingled as the door opened, notifying the employees of their presence.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." She said, as she smelled the air. They stood in line and Mai started looking through her purse for her wallet.

"No, that's fine Mai. My treat." He said and smiled up at her.

"Thank you." She said closing her purse again.

The line went by quickly and soon, they were in front.

"Two iced double tall lattes, please." Yugi said.

"That will be Five dollars sixty cents." The lady at the cash register said as she chewed on a piece of gum. Yugi took out his wallet and put the money on the counter. "Please have a seat and we'll send you your lattes."

The pair walked over to a table with two chairs. They sat down and Mai began to laugh quietly.

"Did you see that lady? She reminded me of a cow the way she chewed her gum!" She said quiet enough that no one else could hear.

"I know. That was so annoying. She needs to learn how to chew with her mouth shut." The two laughed together and began to talk about similar experiences. By the time the waitress came with their lattes, they had somehow gotten to the topic of pets. The only time they paused was to occasionally take a sip of their lattes.

Yugi could always cheer Mai up. He just had that kind of personality that cheers up everyone around him. Yugi was Mai's closest friend and always could tell when something was wrong and made her feel better even if he didn't realize it.

Mai almost choked on her drink when the door opened and she saw the man with blonde hair that bumped into her that morning walked. A girl with auburn hair was standing behind him and chatting with a person with pointy dark brown hair.

"Yugi. Look. It's the guy-" She stopped talking when Yugi waved at the group and signaled for him to come over to their table.

He froze when he saw Mai and his face filled with anger. Mai stared right back at him with just as much hate on her face. The people who were behind the man were too busy chatting with each other to notice that he had stopped. The girl with long auburn hair was the first one to crash. She looked like she was about to say something, but stopped when she saw Yugi. She smiled and waved and Yugi waved back.

"Mai, I want you to meet someone."


	3. Friends?

"I would like you to meet some people." Yugi said cheerfully. "Over there is Tristin." He said pointing to the person with pointy hair. "That's Serenity-" the girl waved, "And her brother Joey." Joey didn't wave or anything. He just stood there looking dumbstruck. "Everyone, this is Mai Valentine."

The girl wore mostly bright colors. A yellow shirt covered by a pink vest and a blue jean skirt. Joey wore the same outfit as Yugi; just his jacket was open showing his white shirt underneath. Tristin wore a white shirt and jeans.

Mai snapped out of her stare when she heard her name. She smiled sweetly. "Nice to meet all of you."

Serenity hit her brother on the shoulder lightly. "Say something. Its rude to just stare." She whispered to him. He seemed to snap out of it and had a blank look on his face.

"Wait…What?" He said looking around confused.

"The least you could do is pay attention. This is Mai Valentine. Say something to her."

He looked over to Mai and his face lit up. "Your that jerk from this morning!" He said pointing accusingly at her.

Tristin smacked him across the head. "Can you at least try and be polite?"

Joey held his head and his face turned bright red. "What was that for!" He screamed at Tristin. Everyone in the café turned to look over at Joey who had totally lost it. He raised his fists. "So, you wanna fight? Bring it on!" He yelled.

A couple of people at that point left not wanting to get involved with the fight. "Dude, we're in public. You're making a scene." Tristin said putting his hands in his pockets.

Mai leaned over to Yugi and whispered in his ear, "Is he always like that?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." He shrugged. "But, you get used to it."

A waitress came over to their table. She had to yell to be heard over the fight between Joey and Tristin and Serenity pleading them to stop. "Um- excuse me. Excuse me! Can you please keep it down? People are trying to enjoy their coffee." She said nervously. She seemed to be unheard. She cleared her throat. "Excuse me!" She screamed.

That got everyone's attention. They stopped bickering and looked over at the waitress. "People are trying to enjoy their coffee and if you don't keep it down, I will be forced to kick you out of this café." She said with more confidence than the first time.

Joey looked like he was about to say something, but Tristin grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him into a chair next to Mai. "No more smart remarks." He said letting go of his collar and pulling a chair out for Serenity.

"Thank you." Serenity said sitting down. Tristin took a seat from another table and sat beside Yugi and Serenity. The small circular table was rather crowded, but they were all able to squeeze together.

Mai, wanting to get away from the craziness, stood up and asked, "Do any of you want something to drink?"

"Why don't I come with you? I know what everyone usually orders." Said Serenity standing up and taking a step closer to Mai.

"Um… Sure. If you want to."

"Great." She said clinging to Mai's arm and dragging her to the counter. Mai was very uncomfortable having a complete stranger hang on her arm, but was too embarrassed to say anything. Serenity started talking non-stop about anything that came to mind. Once again, it was annoying, but Mai didn't say anything.

They had to wait in line again, but it was considerably shorter because of all the people who walked out during the fight. Serenity took this opportunity to apologize about how her brother had acted.

"It's fine." Mai said quickly. "Actually, to tell you the truth, he reminds me of someone I used to know." Mai smiled as she thought back.

"Who was it?"

Mai's smiled brighter. "A very special friend."

"Really. Who?"

"That's a secret."

"One iced tea, one double tall latte, and one frappachino." Serenity said to the waitress. Mai hadn't even noticed that they had reached the counter. "Did you and Yugi already order?"

Mai nodded. "That will be nine dollars." Said the cashier, still chewing her gum like a cow. Both of the girls dug into their purses to grab their wallets, but Mai beat Serenity to it. She took out nine dollars and paid the cashier.

Serenity's money sat in her hand. "Thanks." She said putting it back into her wallet and the wallet into her little white purse.

"No problem." Serenity once again clung to Mai's arm and dragged her back to the table, talking non-stop about her favorite stores. Mai groaned slightly, but Serenity didn't seem to notice. When they returned to the table, Mai gratefully shook Serenity off her arm and sat back down next to Yugi. The table was conversing about video games and Mai was absolutely lost.

She had never been much of a video game person. She heard something about 'San Andreas' and 'Halo'. She just figured they were names of video games. Mai listened and tried to pretend she was listening.

"On level 2, you have to get the medal from that one dude-."

"I thought you were supposed to get the medal from that other dude on level 4."

"No. I'm pretty sure its level 2."

The three boys rambled on and on about how to get past certain levels. Mai looked over at Serenity, and she looked just as bored as she was. She was sipping up the last of her iced tea, which had come a while back.

Mai pulled her cell phone from her purse and checked the time. They had been there for almost two hours. She was surprised how fast the time went by. She stood up again.

"I'm sorry. I have to go to work now. Nice meeting all of you." She smiled and waved as she walked out of the cozy café. As soon as she stepped outside, a cold breeze sent a chill down her spine. She shivered and pulled her coat closer around her before walking into the crowd of people on their way to their destinations.


	4. Trouble?

Mai drove her red convertible to the front of the Kaiba Corp. building. Kaiba Corp. was a gaming company that has some of the most advanced equipment in all of Japan. It was a family business owner by a man named Seto Kaiba. The building was very large and had many glass windows all around it. It was taller than all the other buildings around.

She parked in the parking lot out front and locked her car. When she walked through the large glass automatic doors, she flashed her card to the lady who was standing at a podium inside. The lady at the podium had short brown hair ending at her chin. She wore a blue shirt and skirt, which was her uniform. She also wore a hat on the top of her head that was the same shade as the rest of her clothing.

"Good morning, Ms. Valentine." She said while marking something down in the book that sat in front of her. "Just in time, as always."

"Yeah. I know. I got…held up." Mai said, hurriedly walking past the podium.

"That's what you say every day." The girl called after Mai and she laughed quietly.

She hurried down the long hall, her heels making a soft clicking sound on the hard wood floors. A few people passed by her, but none of them said anything. At the end of the long hallway, she turned to come face to face with a door.

She searched her purse for a card and swiped in through the keypad on the side of the doorframe. The light at the top turned from the bright red to a mellow green, allowing Mai to open the door. She returned the card to her purse and entered the room.

The room was filled with people in uniform. All were females who wore light blue jackets and blue skirts of matching color.

"Good morning, Mai." A passing girl said. "Would you like me to get you a cup of coffee?" She asked.

"No thanks, Julie. I just got back from the café." Mai replied while walking through an aisle with lockers on each side. She stopped at the locker on the end and punched in a number in the keypad. It beeped softly and Mai opened it.

"Is that the same place you go to every morning?" Julie asked. She had light brown eyes and a kind face. Her shoulder length black hair had a bright shade of red on the tips.

"No. Only on Wednesdays." Mai took off her purple coat and took a blue jacket out of the locker. She put it on over her white blouse and put on her blue skirt that she also took from the locker. She folded her old clothes and placed them in the locker. "I met a few people today." She said conversationally.

"Really? Who did you meet?" Julie asked, sounding amused.

"Some friends of Yugi's. A girl named Serenity, and two guys. I believe their names were Tristin and Joey. I'm not sure though." She shrugged.

"Well, do you like any of them? You know…Like like anyone?" Julie raised an eyebrow and looked at Mai expectantly. Mai could tell she couldn't wait for an answer.

"No! Of course I haven't! You can't come across something like that on just a first meeting!" Mai was blushing.

"Well, Mai, you have got to get yourself a boyfriend. You're still hanging onto that boy from fifteen years ago, aren't you? Mai! You have got to stop doing that. I doubt it can be healthy."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mai slammed her locker shut and turned away to hide that she was blushing.

" Mai, He's gone and he's not coming back. You have to accept that."

"I know." Mai said quietly and tried to fight back the tears. She had known for a long time that he was gone and knew he was never coming back. But, part of her just didn't want to let go. Her hand went to a golden heart shaped locket that hung around her neck and smiled.

All of a sudden, Mai was no longer in the crowded room, but in a large yard. Looking down at herself, she was no longer the Mai that she used to be. She was shorter and a lot younger.

"Hey, Mai! It's your birthday today, isn't it?" A young blonde haired boy asked her with his silly lopsided grin.

"Yes it is. How did you find out?" A small version of Mai asked.

"I asked around. I got you a present."

"Really? What did you get me?"

"Close your eyes and I'll give it to you." The boy insisted.

"Ok." Mai said and closed her eyes tight.

"No peeking, ok?"

"Ok." She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and tried to fight the temptation to sneak a peek. She could feel something cold around her neck. "Can I open my eyes now?" Mai asked impatiently.

"Just a second. Ok, now you can open your eyes."

Mai slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the face of the small boy grinning back at her. "Do you like it?" he asked.

Mai looked down at her neck and gasped when she saw a golden heart shaped locket dangling loosely. "It's beautiful!" She said in awe.

"Look inside." The boy insisted. Mai did as she was told and saw a picture of the two of them inside of the locket. Mai was pulling a large blue cap down over the boy's face as he struggled to get it off.

"I love it!" She gave the blonde haired kid a big hug. "Thank you!" She said excitedly.

"I knew you would."

"You ok, Mai?" Julie asked, now in front of Mai and looking up at her.

Mai shook her head slightly and the yard disappeared replaced by the room she was just in. "Yeah. I just…zoned out for a second there."

"Really. You gave me quite a scare. You just blanked out and wouldn't answer when I talked to you." Julie gave Mai another look. "Are you sure you're ok? You look a little pale."

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just…didn't get much sleep last night." Mai lied.

"Alright. Well, I have to get off to work." Julie started to walk off, but turned back to wave. "Maybe you should do the same before Kaiba get mad. Bye!" And with that, Julie left the room.

Mai sighed and then left the room also. She walked back down the long hallway and walked up the steps near the entrance. She looked down at her feet and counted the number of steps as she walked up.

'12, 13, 14…' She thought and continued to walk at a brisk pace. '23, 24, 25…Almost done with the first flight.' When she had finished walking up one more flight of stairs, she was at a total of 56 stairs. 'Same as yesterday.' She smiled to herself and walked down another long hallway, only this one was much wider.

Counting the number of doors she passed by this time, she stopped when she reached six doors on the right. She swiped her card once again through the keypad and the light turned green. She opened the door and walked into the room.

This room was large but appeared to be smaller because of all the cubicles there were. She walked down a row and, after a couple of 'good mornings', reached her cubicle. She sat back in her rolling chair and let out a deep sigh.

A computer sat in the corner of the desk and there were stacks of paper everywhere. A few pictures of her, Yugi and a couple of her other friends together were hung up on the walls. She smiled when she saw them. She looked down at a stack of paper and sighed once more.

She found a pen lying on the desk next to the stapler and she looked at the first piece of paper on the stack closest to her.

She started reading over the sheet of paper and occasionally wrote something down. Once she was done reading over the piece of paper, she turned to her computer. Mai tucked the pen behind her ear and started to type.

And so the process repeated itself until the stack was completed. She leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh of boredom. A man peeked over the wall of her cubicle and waved.

"Good morning, Mai." He said cheerfully. Only the top half of his head was visible. He had a clearly un-brushed mop of black hair atop his head, but friendly blue eyes. "You sound bored. Is something wrong?"

"This job is boring. All I do is sit here all day, read papers and type on my computer."

"Well, that might be about to change. Mr. Kaiba wants to see you in his office." The man jabbed his thumb in the direction of Kaiba's office.

"What?" Mai asked in surprise. "Do you think I'm in trouble?"

"It might be. If it is, I wouldn't keep him waiting." The man said and waved again. "Good luck." He said cheerfully and walked away.

Mai stood up nervously and headed towards Kaiba's office, worrying about what was gonna happen next the whole way.


	5. Fired?

Hello? Is this thing on? Right. Sorry for no other author notes, but the computer kept on eating it, so I gave up. Now I found out what I was doing wrong! HAHA! Well, hope you like the story so far and thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate it and it helps motivate me to write the story. Oh, I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I've been really busy. I'll try to speed up the others. Thank you! Baka-green

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The short walk to Kaiba's office seemed to be three times as long as it usually would.

_Oh, god. Oh, god. I'm going to be fired for sure. _Were the only words that echoed through her mind. _I have to think positive. Right. What did I do that would make me get fired anyway? Just take a deep breath and keep on walking._

The door was coming closer, but seemed scarier than any other door Mai had ever seen. She felt small when standing in front of the door to Kaiba's office. She raised her hand and listened to the three hollow knocks.

"Come in." Mai let out the breath that she didn't even know she was holding when she heard the cold voice. No sign of mercy or kindness in it at all.

Mai slowly opened the door and peeked inside. It was rather orderly. Shelves lined the walls filled with books and notebooks. The back wall was not a wall at all, but a window overlooking the city below. In front of the very large window was a desk piled with papers, notebooks and a computer sat on the corner. The man sitting behind the desk was obviously a businessman.

He had rough features from his cold hazel eyes to his big hands. Locks of his slightly long brown hair fell in front of his eyes.

"Mai Valentine, I presume." His cold voice said, breaking the silence.

Mai stepped in and closed the door behind her before giving a quick bow and saying, "Yes, I am."

"Please, have a seat, Ms. Valentine." He said, gesturing to the seat on the opposite side of the desk that he sat at.

Mai nodded and hurried over to the chair. She wanted to know why he had called her here, but her throat was too dry to say anything.

"I know that you have much to do, so I will just get to the point. Kaiba Corp. is opening a whole new line of products. Like all new products, they need to be tested and we do not have enough workers in that department. I was hoping that you would take the job." Kai folded his hands and rested his elbows on the desk.

Mai was surprised by his offer, but grateful that she wasn't about to get fired. "I-I would be honored, Mr. Kaiba." She managed to say despite her dry throat.

"Good. You can start tomorrow. Go to the front desk and ask Mrs. Ogata for the details. You are free to go." He said that as if he was happy to have her out of his sight. Mai, not wanting to get on his bad side, got to her feet and hurried to the door. Before exiting, she gave a quick bow and left.

A couple of people glanced at Mai and a few of her friends asked her what all that was for. She would just smile and say, "No more boring job for me." And be on her way leaving the others confused.

She hurried down the stairs, and didn't even bother to count them as in her regular schedule. With every step she took, she thought, _No more sitting in a cubicle all day. No more filling out paperwork. _

She was so caught up in her cheerful thoughts, she barely knew what was happening when she felt a quick pain on her shoulder and found herself on the floor. She suddenly forgot what she was so happy about and started to yell. "Why don't you watch where your going, you jerk! Don't you have any-" She cut off when she realized who she was talking to. "It's you!" She said pointing to the blonde haired punk from this morning.

He looked like he was about to yell, but restrained himself from doing so. "Sorry, but I'm not 'you'." He held out a hand to her. "Names Joey Wheeler."

Mai was a little reluctant to take his hand and pull herself to her feet. "Mai-"

"Mai Valentine." Joey finished for her. "You look like you're in a hurry, but I wanted to apologize for this morning, and I guess now." He began to blush. "Would you like to go out for diner sometime?" He stared down at his feet, expecting to be rejected.

Mai, who was surprised by his question, was about to simply say 'no', but couldn't when she saw the look on his face. "I-I'm a bit busy right now. Let me check my schedule and I'll get back to you. I should have my schedule planned out by tomorrow." She said quickly. She felt better to see the surprised yet excited look on Joey's face, but didn't feel to good about her answer. She had just agreed to a date with an almost total stranger.

A grin crept across Joey's face and his blushing began to decrease. "What time do you get off work?"

"Five o' clock." She answered.

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow at five o' clock at the entrance of this building." He said and turned to continue to run up the stairs. He turned to waves to her and almost tripped over his feet. Mai smiled and weakly waved back, but as soon as his back was turn, her smile faded and was replaced with a frown and her cheeks turned a bright red.

"Oh no! What am I going to do?" She grew lost in thought about what she was going to do. How she was going to get out of this mess.

A small clap snapped her out of her thought and she remembered what she was supposed to be doing. She sped down the stairs as fast as she could, occasionally skipping a few.

She nearly skids on the tiled floor as she came to a stop at the front desk.

The lady at the desk looked above her glasses at Mai then looked back down at her papers, continuing to write. "Ms. Valentine, I presume."

"Yes." She said, trying to catch her breath.

Without looking up, Mrs. Ogata picked up a stack of papers and handed it to Mai. "This has all the details to your new job. If you have any questions, please answer by tomorrow."

"I have to read all of this by tomorrow?" Mai asked, a little shocked by how much she was being expected to read in one night.

Mrs. Ogata glanced up at her. "Yes. Unless you prefer to walk around all day without knowing what to do, I would advise that."

Not wanting to cause a scene, she nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Ogata." She gave a small bow and turned to leave for the employee dressing room. She expected for Mrs. Ogata to stop her, but she never did.

She waited until she turned the corner before she began to run. Mai clenched the papers to her chest, wondering what could be within it. She rushed into the room, slowing her pace but still going considerably fast pace, and hurried to her locker.

She was halfway through changing when Julie came up beside her.

"Well…Is there something you want to tell me?" She asked expectantly.

Mai looked up at her. "No…Why?"

"Come on. You can tell me." Julie insisted.

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on! I saw you with that boy! So, who is he?"

"Oh, that was Joey Wheeler. You know, the guy I was talking about this morning." Mai had totally forgotten about her encounter with Joey. Just thinking about it made her blush.

"I see that you're blushing. What happened?"

"Nothing happened…" Mai said quietly, lost in her own thoughts.

"Mai. I am your friend and by accepting my friendship, you agreed to tell em everything. What happened?" Julie asked sternly.

A little confused because she never agreed to that, she cleared her throat and said, "He asked me out."

"Out? Like on a date?" Julie asked, sounding surprised.

Mai felt her cheeks begin to grow hot. "Yeah…"

"Well…what did you say?"

"I said I wasn't sure, so I would get back to him…"

"You have to say yes."

"What? I barely even know him."

"Mai. You are still hanging on to that boy from fifteen years ago. Let him go. If you go out with this 'Joey' guy, you might forget about him. It's for your own sake and you don't have a choice in the matter." Julie stuck her tongue out at Mai. "You don't have to really like him. Just go on a few dates and dump him."

Mai thought for a moment and a smile crept across her face. "I guess that you're right. I'll just dump him."

Julie patted Mai on the back. "Good to see you back to your senses."


	6. Date?

Hey. Thank s for all the reviews. You don't know how much they motivate me to continue the story. I especially want to thank someone who is very blu person. You know who you are. Just to let you know this chapter is going to be written in Joey's point of view. I think that will liven things up a bit. Thank you.

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Tristin and Serenity had already went back to the apartment. Yugi and me were the only ones left at our table in the small café.

"You're still single, aren't you?" Yugi asked, breaking the silence.

"I told you that I don't need a girlfriend. I could have any girl I wanted if I really wanted to." I lied in a tough voice. Yugi just raised an eyebrow as he struggled not to laugh.

"I think that it's about time that you did get one." Yugi said after his small fit of laughter. "Y'know, Mai is single."

"You mean that girl that was just in here? Are you joking?" I said in disbelief.

"I'm serious! She's actually a nice girl if you get to know her. I think you two should go on a date and see how it turns out." Yugi avoided my gaze by looking down at his hands clasped on the tabletop.

"Not a chance. I don't even know her." I protested.

Yugi was silent for a moment and I knew he was up to no good. He no longer tried to avoid my gaze. Instead, he met it with a different look in his eye. A more stern and clever eye. "What if I dared you?"

It was no use. Yugi knew me too well. He knew that I would never back down from a dare. I hung my head in defeat. "Fine."

He picked a pen up form off the table and scribbled something on a napkin. He handed it over to me and said, "Here's the address to her work. She gets off at five o' clock. I would ask her today before she gets taken by someone else." Yugi said with a sly grin.

I took the napkin and looked over the address. "Do I really have to do it today?" I asked, suddenly feeling small. I slouched down in my chair and held the napkin in front of my face to try to hide that I was blushing.

"The sooner the better." The sly smile on Yugi's face was replaced by the old familiar smile.

I sighed, knowing that I was defeated. "I guess this is one of those things that you don't want to hold off on." I jumped from my chair and clenched my fist. "I'll do it!" I said in a louder voice than I meant to. A couple of people looked my way and then turned back to their conversations. I rested my hands on the table and leaned close to Yugi so that he could hear him whisper. "You gotta come with me, though."

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"I'm not so sure about this anymore." I said nervously, looking up at the large building in front of me.

"Come on! We came this far! We can't turn back now! Don't worry, I got your back." Yugi cheered motivationally.

"Thanks…" I said, not sounding that thrilled. In fact, I really wasn't that thrilled. I didn't feel all too good either. My stomach was uneasy with the countless butterflies that flew around, frantically trying to find a way out.

"You're not going to get anywhere if you just stand there. Go in." Yugi encouraged.

I was too nervous to disobey. The building was so large; surprise and awe replaced my nervousness. Yugi walked in front of me when he saw that I had stopped. He walked over to a podium with a lady dressed in a blue uniform. I slowly walked behind him, looking around at the different levels of the building.

"We are here to see an employee. Her name is Mai Valentine." Yugi said once he reached the podium.

The woman looked down a list in the notebook in front of her. "Name?"

"Yugi Motou and Joey Wheeler."

She wrote something down in one of the columns and waved her hand dismissively. Yugi and I followed walked past the woman and looked around.

"I believe her office is somewhere up there." Yugi said, pointing to a staircase.

"Right. The sooner the better." I took a deep breath before marching towards to staircase. Yugi followed suit.

With each step I went up, I lost more and more of my confidence. A couple of times, I thought about turning back, but then I remembered about the dare. _I can't turn back on it now! Think about your reputation! _I kept on telling myself. _Yeah! That's it! I just need to-oomph!_

My thoughts were interrupted as I bumped into someone.

"Why don't you watch where your going, you jerk! Don't you have any-" A familiar voice said. "It's you!" Said Mai, pointing at me accusingly.

I was about to yell at her for bumping into me once again, but I kept myself from doing that. _Remember the dare. Remember the dare._ I kept on telling myself. Once I was calm again, I said, "Sorry, but I'm not 'you'." Right after I said that, I noticed just how lame it sounded. So, I held out my hand and said, "Names Joey Wheeler."

Mai reluctantly reached up to take my hand and I helped her to her feet. "Mai-" She started.

"Mai Valentine." I finished for her. Having no clue why I had said her name for her, I tried to change the subject. "You look like you're in a hurry, but I wanted to apologize for this morning, and I guess now."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Yugi slip away and run the rest of the way up the stairs. I suddenly lost all confidence and felt oddly embarrassed. I could feel my cheeks begin to turn red. _Now or never. _Now_ or never._ I told myself. "Would you like to go out for diner sometime?" I looked down at my feet, knowing that I had asked too suddenly. I knew that I was going to be rejected.

A look of surprise came across her face. She seemed to be lost for words. _I blew it. I blew it._ Was the only thing that repeated in my mind.

"I-I'm a bit busy right now. Let me check my schedule and I'll get back to you. I should have my schedule planned out by tomorrow." She said, stuttering a little.

I was surprised yet overjoyed by her answer. I didn't even think about why she had said yes. I was just glad that she did. I couldn't help but grin brightly and he felt his cheeks begin to cool off. I was glad that that was over with. "What time do you get off work?" I asked without thinking.

"Five o' clock." She answered.

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow at five o' clock at the entrance of this building." I began to run up the stairs to tell Yugi the good news. He almost tripped a few times in his hurry. When I finally made it up there, Yugi was waiting anxiously.

"So, how did it go?"

I couldn't seem to wipe the silly grin off my face. "She said yes."

"Really? That's great! When and where is the date?"

My smile quickly faded. I realized that she actually didn't say yes. She said maybe. And maybe usually means no. "I got blown off…" I thought out loud.

Yugi then looked confused. "But- didn't you just say that she said yes?"

"She didn't say yes, she said maybe."

"What did she say exactly?" Yugi asked trying to clear things up.

I took a deep breath and repeated every word that I could remember of our conversation.

After a little bit of thought, Yugi said, "She said she didn't know her schedule and you should come back tomorrow for an answer. She probably just needed time to think. Come tomorrow and you'll have your answer."

I was then able to see on the bright side. _She actually didn't say no. She said she was busy and she would get back to me. _"I guess your right. I will come back tomorrow."

My confidence was back, and I was going on- or might be going on- my first date. "I guess we should be going now. We have nothing else to do here." I said cheerfully.

"I guess so."

And so, I turned on my heel and started walking down the stairs. I almost didn't notice the small shiny object that lay on the floor. The only reason I did notice it was because it was shining in the light and nearly blinded me in one eye.

I leaned over and picked it up. Looking at it closely, I could see a golden heart shaped locket on a thin gold chain. Curious about what was in the locket, I opened it up. What I saw next shocked me.

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Bwahahahaha! The all dreaded suspenseful ending. Now you have to read my next chapter if you want to find out what happens next! Well, anywho, thank you for reading this far and please review. I hate it when people read but don't review. I want feedback on how I'm doing. I don't care if it's negative. I just want your opinion on how my story is going. Much appreciated.


	7. WhereWhen?

Sorry it took so long to update. I've been really busy lately. Please don't get mad at me!

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Mai looked out the window to look at the soft raindrops that splattered against the window. The sky was so clouded that she could barely see outside. This new job was definitely more exciting than her other job, but was still boring. All the people in the testing department seemed to be friendly enough. All except for one.

The person who had given her the tour and showed her what to do had finished quite a while ago. She was now looking down at a strange looking glove and counting the minutes until it was over.

After what seemed like hours, her shift was over. She was dead tired from reading all night and wanted nothing more than to go home.

"Seven o' clock. Time to go." Mai said, looking up at the clock. She put the glove in her bag and made her way for the door. She was stopped a few times by other employees who wanted to tell her 'good job' or to give some tips.

It seemed like forever until she could break through the crowd and go through the doors. She sighed and walked down the long hallways into the lobby. She was about to leave the large automatic doors in the front, when she realized she didn't have an umbrella. The weather had been perfect when she left this morning.

"What's a little rain?" She asked herself to try to cheer herself up. And with that, she exited the building.

She was walking over to her convertible, when she heard someone call her name. She sighed. "Another person who wants to congratulate me on the new job." And pretended not to hear them calling.

When she reached her car, someone put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at who it was and gasped.

She saw Joey panting and absolutely soaked. "Hey, Mai." He said, smiling.

"What are you doing here? Were you waiting in the rain the whole time?" Mai asked, surprised to see him here.

"You told me to meet you here at five o' clock. So, I waited for you to come. It was a little later than I thought, though." He grinned. Mai had totally forgot about the date. She was so excited about the new job and everything else that was going on, that she completely forgot.

"I-I'm sorry. I just got a new job and my hours are different. I'm just so used to saying five. Now, my shift is over at seven. Sorry to make you wait in the rain.

"No, it's not a problem. A little rain can't hurt me." He flexed his muscles and Mai laughed. "So, do you have an answer yet?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, I have." She lied. She felt bad about making him wait in the rain for two hours that she couldn't say no. "You free this Sunday?"

"Yeah. Of course I am." He said with a surprised look. "If you give me your address, I can pick you up at six."

"Sounds good." Mai said and started to search through her bag for a pen and paper.

"Whoa! What is that?" He asked, pointing to the glove.

"Oh, this?" She took it from the bag and handed it to him. "It's the newest item by Kaiba Corp. It's for this one game called 'Duel Monsters' or something like that."

Joey turned it over in his hands to get a better look. "Cool! This is one of those things that Yugi would like! Though, I must say, I am a pretty good duelist too." He smiled and handed it back.

"I would give one to Yugi and you, but it's still in the experimental stage." She put the glove back in the bag. "You know what? It's too wet right here. Let's go to the café and I'll give you the address there."

"Sounds good to me." Joey smiled and looked at Mai's car. "Can I drive?"

"No." Was Mai's simple answer. "It's my car, so I get to drive."

"Fine." Joey sighed and jumped into the passenger's seat.

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Once they reached the café, they were both soaked and laughing. They ran inside to the warmth of the shop and ignored the people who were staring at them.

"I told you I was a good driver." Mai said through boughs of laughter.

"A good driver? You broke at least ten laws back there!" Joey said jokingly.

"But that's what makes it fun."

They both took a seat at a table and Mai took out a pen and a piece of paper. "Here's my address." She said after she scribbled it down.

Mai was about to leave when Joey grabbed her arm to stop her. "Before I forget, I think this is yours." He put something in her hand. "See you this Sunday." He said smiling.

Mai looked down in shock to see her locket. She felt around her neck and noticed that it was gone. "Where- when-" She fumbled with her words.

"I found it on the ground yesterday and figured it must be yours." He said with a slightly forced smile.

"Thank you. A friend gave this to me a long time ago. I don't know what I would do if I had lost it."


End file.
